Notes: This is
the new Indian assault rifle, based on the AK series and the Galil.Though 7000 of these weapons were due for delivery by 1994, service
adoption was complicated by the lack of 5.56mm NATO ammunition in the country,
and by 1998, the INSAS had been issued only to special units such as special
operations units and paratroopers.
50 million rounds of 5.56mm NATO ammunition were ordered from Israel in 1996
(with an option for 50 million more), but this order was cut by Israel (possibly
due to political pressure from the US), before one-quarter of the initial batch
actually delivered, and the remainder of the order was not delivered until
recently.In the meantime, India
was able to order a huge amount of AKMS and ammunition from Romania, and many of
the units slated to receive the INSAS got AKMs instead.Indian troops that did receive the INSAS are reportedly pleased with it,
finding it to very reliable and accurate, and by 2006, some 300,000 INSAS
assault rifles were in service with the Indian Army.

In a way, the
INSAS could almost be considered a “Frankenweapon;” the basic operation is very
close to that of the AKM and AK-74 series, along with the stamped steel
receiver.However, the INSAS also
uses a FAL-like manual gas regulator and gas cutoff for use with rifle grenades,
the charging mechanism and charging handle of the Heckler & Koch G-3 and HK-33
(including its position on left side of the fore-end), and a folding carrying
handle similar to that of the L-1A1.The stock may be made from wood or polymer, or be a folding metal stock.Standard magazines contain 20 rounds and are made from translucent
polymer, but similar 30-round magazines (intended primarily for use in the INSAS
LMG) will also fit into the INSAS assault rifle.(These translucent polymer magazines are actually modified from those of
the Steyr AUG.)22-round light
alloy magazines were used during the INSAS’s development, but not officially
adopted; however, such a large quantity of these magazines were made that they
are issued quite often.

In 2007, a short
version of the INSAS was designed, called the Kalantak.However, by 2010 it was still not in large-scale production, and only
very limited issue had been made.
The Kalantak has a shortened 13.11-inch barrel tipped by a standard INSAS flash
suppressor, along with appropriately-shortened handguards.The handguards and pistol grip are of polymer, and the stock is
side-folding.The Kalantak has a
short length of MIL-STD-1913 rail in the scout position at the front of the
receiver, with standard iron sights also being present.The rear sight is an aperture sight right now, but a drum-type sight is
in development.

The Excalibur is
another CQB version of the INSAS, one that has already seen large-scale issue
and combat-testing.The Excalibur
is designed for both police and military use; it has a 15.75-inch barrel which
has reinforcement in the right places for bayonet fighting.The stock is folding and skeletonized.Atop the receiver is a MIL-STD-1913 rail, and newer-issue Excaliburs have
MIL-STD-1913 rails atop and under the handguards.After its extensive testing, the Excalibur was deemed insufficient for
use.

The newest
version of the INSAS is the MSMC carbine (called the Amogh, and then the MINSAS,
in development; MSMC stands for Modern SubMachine Carbine).Also designed for CQB, the biggest change from the rest of the INSAS
series is the chambering of the MSMC for the new 5.56mm MINSAS round.Furniture is largely sheet steel enclosed in polymer, with receiver and
working-part construction of steel.
The current version has a very short length of MIL-STD-1913 rail atop the
receiver primarily for small, reflex-type sights, and the handguards do not have
any such attachment rails; a reflex-type sight is issued with the MSMC.The MSMC has a 13-inch barrel with the same sort of flash suppressor as
the rest of the INSAS series, and a sliding stock on struts with a small polymer
butt. Unusually for such a small weapon, the MSMC can take a bayonet. The
magazine fits into the pistol grip, which connects to a long, wide trigger
guard, big enough to enclose the fingers of the shooter’s entire shooting hand.

Twilight 2000
Notes: Three production batches were built before 1998 Pakistani air strikes put
the INSAS production lines out of action; production stopped after a little over
18,000 rifles and did not start again until nearly 2020.Low-scale production of 5.56mm NATO rounds began in India in mid-1997,
but production never kept up with demand, and even many special units went back
to the AKM and FN-FAL.The
Kalantak, Excalibur, and MSMC do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Merc 2000 Notes:
Production and adoption of the INSAS was largely discontinued due to budgetary
reasons in 1996; after this, Indian troops were armed mostly with a combination
of older Russian and Eastern European-made weapons.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

INSAS (Wood Stock)

5.56mm NATO

3.28 kg

20, 22, 30

$576

INSAS (Polymer Stock)

5.56mm NATO

3.18 kg

20, 22, 30

$586

INSAS 2B

5.56mm NATO

3.25 kg

20, 22, 30

$606

Kalantak

5.56mm NATO

3.31 kg

20, 22, 30

$734

Excalibur

5.56mm NATO

3.81 kg

20, 22, 30

$585

MSMC

5.56mm MINSAS

2.8 kg

30

$431

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

INSAS (Wood or Polymer Stock)

3

3

1-Nil

6

3

4

48

INSAS 2B

3

3

1-Nil

5/6

2

4

48

Kalantak

3/5

3

1-Nil

4/6

2

4/6

29

Excalibur

5

3

1-Nil

4/6

2

6

39

MSMC

5

2

1-1-Nil

3/5

3

6

33

IOFB Zittara

Notes: In 2006,
the Indian Army expressed to IMI in Israel their interest in the Tavor series,
and specifically the MTAR and MTAR 9mm (though they left the door open for the
purchase of other members of the Tavor family).The Indian Army has invested about $20 million in the acquisition of
these MTARs and ancillary equipment, and deliveries appear to have begun in
mid-2007.These MTAR variants,
called the Zittara series by the Indians, are destined to equip the Indian
Army’s best special operations units.

The Indian
variant of the MTAR-21, the Zittara Assault Rifle, is largely the same as the
MTAR-21 in most respects: it is topped with a MIL-STD-1913 rail, able to take
most underbarrel 40mm grenade launchers (given the right adapters), and equipped
under most circumstances with the Israeli-made MARS sight – an integrated unit
with a low-magnification sight, a red-dot reflex sight, day/night channels, and
a laser aiming module.The sight
can also take clip-on NVGs.The
barrel of the Zittara, however, is 12.99 inches long – over 3 inches longer than
that of its MTAR-21 parent.The
flash suppressor is also (very) slightly different, a concession to local
manufacturing methods, and the top MIL-STD-1913 rail is a longer than that found
on the MTAR-21.Primarily due to
the longer barrel and local manufacturing methods, the Zittara assault rifle is
also a little heavier than the MTAR-21.

The Zittara
shares with the MTAR-21 the ability to use kits to convert the Zittara into a
submachinegun; however, the Zittara can also be converted into a sort of
PDW/high-power SMG, firing a round based on the Colt’s experimental 5.56mm MARS
round (no relation to the MARS sight).The 9mm Parabellum version uses the same barrel length as the Zittara
assault rifle, but has no flash suppressor, and can use a locally-produced
30-round magazine (rumored to be based upon the Sten magazine) as well as Uzi
magazines.The 9mm Parabellum
version, like the MTAR 9mm, can also have its barrel replaced with barrel that
has an integral silencer.

The High-Power
SMG version also uses the same 12.99-inch barrel, but the flash suppressor is
retained.The High-Power SMG
version is fed by a 30-round magazine designed for the purpose.The cyclic rate of fire is slightly higher than that of the Zittara
Assault Rifle, but the increase in cyclic rate is inconsequential for game
purposes.

Twilight 2000
Notes: The Zittara Series is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Merc 2000
timeline: In the Merc 2000 timeline, the Indians have kept their Zittaras quite
close, and have never exported them.Of course, some Zittaras have inevitably been captured by the Pakistanis,
and the Pakistanis are reportedly working on reverse-engineering them.